LOVE IS STRANGE Ein Film von Ira Sachs USA, 2014, 98 Minuten Verleih: Xenix Filmdistribution GmbH Tel. 044 296 50 40 Fax 044 296 50 45 [email protected] http://www.xenixfilm.ch Presse: Anna-Katharina Straumann [email protected] www.xenixfilm.ch Start: 11. Dezember 2014 Bilder sind auf www.xenixfilm.ch erhältlich. SHORT SYNOPSIS After finally getting married after 28 years together, Ben and George are forced to face bu- reaucracy and the challenges of being forced to live apart, as their tight-knit community of family and friends comes together to offer support. LONG SYNOPSIS After 28 years together, Ben and George take advantage of the new marriage laws and tie the knot in a garden wedding in the East Village. Returning from their honeymoon, however, and on account of their publicized vows, George gets fired from his longtime job as a choir director for a co-ed Catholic school. Suddenly, with no real savings to count on, the couple finds that they canʼt afford the mortgage on their small Chelsea apartment and they have to sell and move out. Only days after they have gathered to celebrate their nuptials, this tight- knit community of family and friends now has to come together again to figure out how to help Ben and George. DIRECTORʼS STATEMENT Love is Strange is a multi-generational story that examines the different ways each of us experience love – and what we expect from it – at different points in our lives. The heart of the story is the long-term relationship of Ben and George (John Lithgow and Alfred Molina), two men who have built a life together for over 30 years, who get married in the first scene – and lose their home in the second. What does love look like to those who have been together for a lifetime, and are now in their later years? For the characters of Ben and George, that love is given shape by loss, both material and personal, and how that loss can shine a bright light on all that these men had in their love for each other over so many years. In the characters of Kate and Elliot, a married couple in their late 40s, played by Marisa Tomei and Darren Burrows, we see love in crisis, and how we often face ourselves in real and surprising ways in middle age. Their son is growing up, their stable lives interrupted by their uncleʼs unexpected presence; and everything that they knew to be fact seems much less certain. And in their son, we find the nature of young love - of learning the realities of love through observing the relationships of others. “Joey” (played by an extraordinary young actor, Charlie Tahan) watches his parents, he watches Ben and George. They say you donʼt teach your children by what you say, but by what you do. In many ways, Love Is Strange is a coming-of- age story, as it tracks the growing awareness of a teenage boy as he becomes a man – and what he learns from all the different relationships around him. Love Is Strange is about the ways we learn to live – how we are taught and who teaches us. How does the Church teach us about love; how does a piano teacher teach us about music: how does an artist help us see: how do movies teach us who we are, and what love, strange and beautiful, can look like? Ben and George, a couple who after 28 years together, finally marry at a City Hall wedding in Manhattan. On return from their honeymoon, however, Ben gets fired from his job as a choir director for a Catholic high school. Unable to stay in their small apartment, the two are forced to move in, separately, with a nephew and his family in Brooklyn, and the two gay cops next door. A multi-generational story of love and marriage, LOVE IS STRANGE depicts the delica- te nature of any two people trying to build a long life together, and the possibility of love to grow deeper, and richer, with time. ABOUT THE DIRECTOR IRA SACHS Sachsʼ last feature KEEP THE LIGHTS ON premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay. He co-wrote LOVE IS STRANGE with Mauricio Zacharias (KEEP THE LIGHTS ON). A recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013, Sachsʼs previ- ous films include Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning FORTY SHADES OF BLUE, and MARRIED LIFE, with Chris Cooper, Rachel McAdams, Pierce Brosnan, and Patricia Clarkson. Directorʼs Selected Filmography: 1993 LADY (SHORT) 1996 BOY-GIRL, BOY-GIRL 1996 THE DELTA 2002 UNDERGROUND ZERO (SEGMENT "UNTITLED") 2005 FORTY SHADES OF BLUE 2007 MARRIED LIFE 2010 LAST ADDRESS (DOCUMENTARY SHORT) 2012 KEEP THE LIGHTS ON CAST BIOGRAPHY JOHN LITHGOW ("Ben") John Lithgow has appeared in over 30 films, and is a two-time Academy Award nominee, for his back-to-back performances in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP and TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. He has appeared on Broadway twenty times, winning two Tony Awards (out of six nominations) and has been nominated for eleven Emmy Awards (winning five) for his work in television, most notably in NBCʼs 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN and Showtimeʼs DEXTER. Mr. Lithgow has written eight best-selling picture books, with his ninth, NEVER PLAY MUSIC RIGHT NEXT TO THE ZOO, to be released by Simon & Schuster in October. Since 2008 Lithgow performs in a one man theatrical memoir entitled STORIES BY HEART after a successful appearance at New Yorkʼs Lincoln Center & Londonʼs National Theater. ALFRED MOLINA ("George") Alfred Molina has been seen in a wide variety of films, including AN EDUCATION, SPIDER MAN 2, PRICK UP YOUR EARS, BOOGIE NIGHTS, COFFEE & CIGARETTES, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and FRIDA, where for his performance as Diego Rivera he received nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the British Academy Award (BAFTA), the SAG Award, the Broadcast Film Critics prize and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award. He has received Tony Award Nominations for FIDLER ON THE ROOF, Yasmina Rezaʼs ART, and RED, for his towering performance as the artist Mark Rothko. Recent films include EMANUEL AND THE TRUTH ABOUT FISHES, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and the upcoming Pixar film MONSTERS UNIVERSITY. MARISA TOMEI ("Kate") Marisa Tomei is an Academy Award winner (MY COUSIN VINNY), and a three-time Academy Award nominee (IN THE BEDROOM, THE WRESTLER). Born and raised in Brooklyn, Tomei is also an accomplished Broadway stage actress, whose credits include WAIT UNTIL DARK, SALOME, and TOP GIRLS. Upcoming films include WHY NOW?, dire ted by Adam Rapp and produced by LIS producers Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, as well as the upcoming Hugh Grant/Mark Lawrence romantic comedy. DARREN BURROWS ("Elliot") Darren Burrows is perhaps best known from the hit television series NORTHERN EXP SURE, where he played Ed Chigliak for six seasons. Darrenʼs versatility spans the big screen as well, where he has worked with some of the most prominent directors in the business, inclu- ding leading roles in Steven Spielbergʼs AMISTAD, Brian DePalmaʼs CASUALTIES OF WAR, John Watersʼ CRY-BABY, and Stephen Frearsʼ THE HI-LO COUNTRY. More recently, Dar- ren starred in Ira Sachsʼ FORTY SHADES OF BLUE and guest starred on the long-running series CSI. Off the set, Darren co-founded Wisconsinʼs Driftless Film Festival with an em- phasis on bringing movie-goers face-to-face interaction with independent filmmakers. DFF holds ist fourth annual festival this Fall. CHEYENNE JACKSON ("Ted") Cheyenne Jackson is a multi-talented actor, singer, and songwriter. On & Off Broadway, Jackson has starred in FINIANʼS RAINBOW (Drama Desk nomination), 8, and XANADU (Drama League, Drama Desk nominations). In concert, THE POWER OF TWO was hailed by The New York Times as “groundbreaking”, and sold out Carnegie Hall. He recently appeared Steven Soderberghʼs BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. He is currently working with SONY/ATV on an album of original music scheduled for 2013 release. CHARLIE TAHAN (“Charlie”) Charlie Tahan made his feature film debut with Will Smith in the blockbuster “I Am Legend.” Since then, Tahan has worked on numerous projects, playing Diane Laneʼs son in “Nights in Rodanthe” and co-starring alongside Natalie Portman in the drama “The Other Woman.” His starring performance as Zac Efronʼs younger brother in “Charlie St. Cloud” earned Tahan strong reviews and a Saturn Award nomination. He also is the voice of “Victor” in Tim Bur- ton's Academy Award-nominated film “Frankenweenie.” Recently, Tahan portrayed Jennifer Anistonʼs son in “Life of Crime,” which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and was also seen in Woody Allenʼs “Blue Jasmine." Among his television credits are a recurring role on the hit series “Law and Order: SVU” and guest-starring roles on the drama “Blue Bloods” and the FOX sci-fi series “Fringe.” He is currently filming a series regu- lar role on the upcoming FOX event series "Wayward Pines." Manny Perez (“Roberto”) Manny Perez began his career in New York when he co-wrote, produced, and starred in the critically acclaimed film "Washington Heights," which won various festival awards. He also starred in Sidney Lumetʼs "100 Centre Street" and numerous other television shows, inclu- ding "Third Watch" and "Rescue Me," and can now be seen in a recurring role on Showtimeʼs critically acclaimed "Homeland." Perez has starred in numerous independent features, inclu- ding "La Soga," which he also co-wrote and produced, and the recent "Ponchao," which won the Audience Award at last Octoberʼs LA Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF).